1896-1897 Journal of an East Boston, Massachusetts, Methodist Church

1896-1897 journal that appears to have belonged to an East Boston Methodist Church, perhaps on Saratoga Street.

The journal measures approximately 7-1/4" x 5-1/2" and contains entries for every Friday throughout the year, with one week in May missing; that week may have been skipped over by mistake.  Each week, presumably, a member of the congregation would inscribe a religious and/or inspirational message.  The messages may have been directed to the pastor or person who led a Bible study group.

An alphabetical surname list and an alphabetical list of the signers appear at the end of this post. Many of them were related by blood or marriage; refer to the list below.

Whether clues or not, two women signed as "Aunt Sue" and "Aunt Lizzie", and Benjamin C. Seaver called himself "Uncle".  They may have been referring to their senior status among the congregation rather than a relationship to the pastor or study group leader.  Benjamin Clark Seaver was born in 1816 and would die in 1907.

The Library of the School of Theology at Boston University has many records pertaining to Boston area Methodist churches, including a few located on Saratoga Street in East Boston, some of which have merged and some of which have closed.  Perhaps a reader, based on the members' names, can determine which church this journal belonged to.

The first page is dated, at top, January 1, 1897 and contains a sentiment from Arthur H. Plumb.

The page for October 29 contains an entry by Inez Maud Hathorne, who included the text: "Saratoga St. Parsonage, 1896".

A few people other dated their entries in 1896, which is a mystery.   Apparently someone went through the album in 1896 and entered all the dates at top at one time, but that doesn't solve the mystery of the earlier dates.

At least one signer was a minister, and there may have been more.  He was Rev. Levi W. Staples, whose wife Emily (Hathorne) Staples also inscribed a page.  Rev. Staples was pastor of the Grace Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge at one time.  Notice how Rev. Staples' sentiment appears directed to a specific man, perhaps the pastor or study group leader.

Surnames in the album

? [2]	D	H	R
A	Davidson	Hathorne	Rich
Armstrong [2]	Dodd	Hitchens [2]	S
B	Dove [2]	Holmes	Scrymgeour [2]
Bedford [4]	Downing [2]	Hosea [6]	Seaver
Bergquist [2]	F	K	Shattuck
Blair	Flanders	Kinnear	Smith
Brackett	G	L	Staples [2]
Brann	Gilchrist [3]	Low [2]	Stevenson [2]
Brown [2]		P	W
Burdakin		Plumb	Wing
		Poole

Signers in the album        [Note: Given names within a specific surname may not be in alphabetical order.]

• Aunt Sue; on a page dated July 23
• Aunt Lizzie; on a page dated September 3

A

• W. M. Armstrong; on a page dated November 19.  His wife signed the following page.
• Mrs. William M. Armstrong; on a page dated November 26. Her husband signed the preceding page.

B

• Alberta Augusta Bedford; on a page dated November 12; daughter of signers Augustus and Martha E. (Richardson) Bedford
• William A. Bedford; on a page dated January 22.  Presumably the son of signer Augustus Bedford
• M. E. Bedford; on a page dated February 26.  Presumably Martha E. (Richardson) Bedford, wife of signer Augustus Bedford
• Augustus Bedford; on a page dated April 16.  Presumably the husband of M. E. Bedford, if she was Martha E. (Richardson) Bedford
• David Bergquist; "Wasn't I a chump"; on a page dated April 30.  David F. Bergquist, husband of signer Grace M. (Wormell) Bergquist
• Grace M. Bergquist; on a page dated September 17.  Wife of signer David F. Bergquist
• Lillian A. Bickford; on a page dated July 2
• Robert Blair; on a page dated June 25.  He might be an actual signer or might be the author of a piece quoted by signer Annie Grace Davidson.
• Marian Wetherbee Brackett; on a page dated December 3
• Hattie Brann or Hattie Braun; on a page dated September 24
• Susy Raynes Brown; on a page dated March 19.  Susan Raynes Brown (1875-1955); future wife of Joseph Warren Bartlett
• Josephine H. Brown; on a page dated August 6
• Walter E. Burdakin; on a page dated July 16. Walter Edward Burdakin (1869-1936)

D

• Annie Grace Davidson; on a page dated June 25.  The page also has the name Robert Blair, who might be an actual signer or might be the author of the piece Annie quoted.
• Nellie L. Dodd of Beverly, Massachusetts; on a page dated February 19
• Carrie E. Dove; on a page dated February 12.  Caroline E. (Bedford) Dove, wife of Harry Curtis Dove and daughter of signers Augustus and Martha E. (Richardson) Bedford.
• Harry C. Dove; on a page dated July 30. Harry Curtis Dove, husband of signer Carrie E. (Bedford) Dove
• Edward I. Downing; on a page dated April 23.  Perhaps Edward Isaac Downing (1867-1956)
• Susie Peirce Downing; on a page dated June 11

F

• Emma W. Flanders; on a page dated June 18.  Presumably Emma Webster Flanders, born January 20, 1872 at Haverhill, Massachusetts; daughter of Mason A. and Annie M. (Deveraux) Flanders

G

• George E. Gilchrist, signed November 30, 1896 (47th); on a page dated January 29
• W. Erwin Gilchrist, signed December 5, 1896; on a page dated April 9.  Presumably Warren Erwin Gilchrist, son of signer George E. Gilchrist
• Olive B. Gilchrist, signed November 30, 1896; on a page dated November 5.  Daughter of signer George E. Gilchrist

H

• Inez Maude Hathorne, signed at Saratoga Street Parsonage in 1896; on a page dated October 29
• Bessie Hitchens of East Boston; on a page dated May 14.  Presumably the daughter of signer Mrs. Elizabeth Hitchens
• Mrs. E. Hitchens of East Boston, Massachusetts; on a page dated October 22.  Presumably Mrs. Elizabeth Hitchens, mother of signer Bessie Hitchens
• Thomas W. Holmes; on a page dated October 15
• George H. Hosea; on a page dated May 7; husband of Eliza Jane (Hittinghouse or Hittinghine) Hosea, who may have been the L. J. Hosea who signed another page.
• Frank W. Hosea; on a page dated May 21
• Mabelle F. Hosea; on a page dated August 20.  Mabelle Franklin Hosea, daughter of Frank W. Hosea
• L. J. Hosea; on a page dated August 27; possibly Lizzie J. (Hittinghouse or Hittinghine) Hosea, wife of George H. Hosea
• Myrtie M. Hosea; on a page dated September 10; wife of George L. Hosea
• George L. Hosea; on a page dated October 1; son of George H. and Eliza Jane (Hittinghine) Hosea, "Lizzie", and husband of Myrtie M. Hosea

K

• Alice M. Kinnear, signed on November 25, 1896; on a page dated December 24

L

• Charles E. Low; on a page dated March 5.  Husband of signer Alice Alicia (Underwood) Low.
• Alice A. Low; on a page dated August 13.  Alice Alicia (Underwood) Low, wife of signer Charles E. Low.

P

• Albert H. Plumb; on a page dated January 1, 1897
• T. H. Poole; on a page dated July 9

R

• L. J. Rich or L. F. Rich; on a page dated March 12

S

• Mrs. Scrymgeour; on a page dated May 28
• S. K. Scrymgeour; on a page dated December 17; presumably Samuel K. Scrymgeour
• Uncle Benjamin C. Seaver; on a page dated October 8. Benjamin Clark Seaver (1816-1907)
• Emily M. Shattuck of Beverly, Massachusetts; on a page dated January 15
• Nettie Mai Smith; on a page dated February 5
• Emily H. Staples; on a page dated January 8.  Emily (Hathorne) Staples, wife of signer Rev. Levi W. Staples.
• L. W. Staples; on a page dated April 2.  Rev. Levi W. Staples, husband of signer Emily (Hathorne) Staples
• J. Estelle Stevenson, signed November 24, 1896; on a page dated March 26.  Josephine or Josie Estelle Stevenson, sister of signer Helen Bird Stevenson.
• Helen B. Stevenson, signed November 24, 1896; on a page dated June 4.  Helen Bird Stevenson, sister of signer Josie Estelle Stevenson.

W

• Alice M. Wing; on a page dated December 10

Saratoga Street, East Boston, Massachusetts

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